1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying and controlling cutting solution for a dicing machine, and more specially, to a cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus for a dicing machine which has a flow rate adjusting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus for a dicing machine in a related art. In this apparatus, water supplied from a water supply equipment 60 of the factory is divided into a cutting solution, which is applied to the edge of a blade (a cutting edge), and a coolant (F) and a coolant (R), which are respectively applied to a front side and a rear side of the blade. Each of the divided water supply lines comprises a regulator 31 for adjusting pressure of the water, a solenoid valve 71 for halting the flow of the water, a flow rate regulating throttle 73 for adjusting the flow rate of the water, and a check valve 35 for permitting the water to flow in one direction only. The water is supplied through the lines and applied to a processing part through applying nozzles (a cutting solution nozzle 36 and coolant nozzles 37). To turn on and off the supply of the water, the valve switch 72 opens and closes the solenoid valve 71 according to signals applied from a main controller 50 of the dicing machine.
In this cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus, the flow rate of the cutting solution or the coolant is set with the flow rate regulating throttle 73. The flow rate regulating throttle 73 is a manual throttle that is manually set by the operator and is fixed until adjusted again by the operator, and the flow rate hence fluctuates when the pressure of the supplied water changes.
The water supply equipment 60 of the factory supplies water to many apparatuses, and a supplying capacity of the water supply equipment 60 is not enough in many cases. Then, the pressure of the water supplied from the water supply equipment 60 is easily affected by a state of operation in the variety of apparatuses. If the pressure of the water supplied from the water supply equipment 60 falls, the regulator 31 cannot adjust the pressure to the set value, and the flow rate is reduced as a result. The flow rates of the cutting solution and the coolant greatly influence the processing quality in the processing of the work by the dicing machine, and the processing quality is seriously affected by the fluctuation of the flow rates in the cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus.
If the operator adjusts the flow rates of the cutting solution and the coolant with the cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus according to the type of the work to be processed, the operator must perform troublesome operations to change the setting of the flow rate regulating throttles 73.
In a case where a semiconductor wafer is processed in the dicing machine, when the wafer that has been grooved in a direction (CH-1) is further grooved in another direction (CH-2) perpendicular to the CH-1 direction, it is preferable to increase the flow rate of the cutting solution in order to prevent contamination from accumulating in the processed grooves in the CH-1 direction; however, it is impossible in the cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus for a dicing machine in which the flow rates of the cutting solution and the coolant do not change in the case where the pressure of the water supplied from the water supply equipment of the factory changes, the flow rates can be easily adjusted according to the type of work to be processed, and the flow rates for the CH-1 direction and the CH-2 direction can be automatically changed.
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention is directed to a cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus for a dicing machine, in which cutting solution is applied to a processing part of the dicing machine, the cutting solution supplying and controlling apparatus comprising: a flow rate adjusting device which adjusts a flow rate of the cutting solution to be supplied, the flow rate adjusting device comprising: a flow rate regulator which regulates the flow rate of the cutting solution to a set flow rate; a flow rate sensor which detects the adjusted flow rate of the cutting solution; and a flow rate controller which controls the flow rate regulator, wherein the flow rate controller controls the flow rate regulator with a detected signal of the flow rate sensor as a feedback signal and maintains the flow rate of the cutting solution to the set flow rate.
According to the present invention, the flow rate adjusting device controls the flow rate regulator with reference to a signal applied from the flow rate sensor as a feedback signal. Thus, even if the pressure of the water supplied from the water supply equipment of the factory changes, the flow rate of the cutting solution can be controlled and maintained to the set flow rate.
Preferably, the flow rate of the cutting solution is automatically set according to type information of a work being processed in the dicing machine.
According to the present invention, the suitable flow rate of the cutting solution for the work to be processed can be set and maintained automatically.
Preferably, the dicing machine performs a first groove processing to groove the work in a first direction and a second groove processing to groove the work in a second direction; the flow rate of the cutting solution is differently set to each of the first processing and the second processing; and the flow rate of the cutting solution is automatically changed according to the direction of the groove processing.
According to the present invention, the flow rate of the cutting solution can be changed automatically according to the directions of the grooving. Thus, contamination does not accumulate in the processed groove.